Sash-operating mechanism



W. A. BURNHAM.

SASH OPER/WING MECHANISIVI.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.30. 1916.

1,338,671. Patented May 4, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I- w. A. BURNHAM. vSASH OPERATING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED AUG30| 1916.

1,338,671. Patented May 4, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

NTED STATES rami FEIS.

v WILLIAM ADDISON BURNI-IAM, OF IRVINGTOIN, NEW YORK.

sneu-OPERATING MncHAnIsi/L Specicaton of Letters Patent.

Patented kMay 4., 192e.

4 .Application led August 30; 1916. Serial No. 117,608.

` cially for use on horticultural buildings, al-

though it .may be used on all classes of buildings where it is found advantageous. One object of my invention is to produce a simple and effective sash operating mech anism whereby a long series of Ventilating sashes maybe opened at one time, with ease of operation and economy oflabor, as compared with similar devices heretofore employed for that purpose.

Another object of my invention is to produce a sash operating mechanism which, when vthe sashes are open, will permit them to close by gravity without injury to the sashes and without breakage of glass.

Another object of my invention is to produce a sash operating mechanism which will hold the sashes open against suctionf pull.

To accomplish these objects, I provide, in combination with an operating shaft extending longitudinally of the building and contiguous to a series of Ventilating sashes,

actuating means connecting the respective' sashes to said shaft, and power transmission means whereby power may be transmitted from a power device (accessible to the operator on the ioor of the green house or other structure) to said shaft to open the sashes, said power device embodying in its construction a counter-weight, preferably in disk form, within a suitable casing, which assists in this operation and which is, in turn, acted upon by the closing power of the sashes.v To make the most convenient and effective use of the counterweight, I provide in connection with the power device referred to, a winding drum to which the' counterweight is flexibly connected at oneend of said casing, so `that when the power device is operated to open theV series ofsashes the lcounter'weight acts therewith, it being lowered and its cord unwound fromthe drum, and when the mechanism is operated to close the sashes,KA ther countern weight is raised and they cord wound upon the drum. The counterweight thus so evenly balances the weight of the sashes that little eort and loss of time are involved-in opening the sashes, and in closing them, it is only necessary to throw a latch or locking lever and permit the sashes to close automatically, without further attention Aon the part of the operator. While n this adjustment may be interfered with by accumulation of snow and ice upon the 'sashes or by adding more sashes, the adjustment may be quickly and conveniently restored by adding as many-more disks to the counterweight within the casing as may be necessary to balance the additional weight. Y

The structure and mechanism by which I eifectuate the afore-mentioned objects will be readily apparent from the following description, taken in connection with the aci companying drawings, in which,

lFigure 1 is a perspective view showing the sash operating mechanism applied to a green house or other horticultural building;

Fig. 2 is a detail end view of a rack-confining saddle, showing a rack and pinion in position therewith;

Fig. 3 is a side view of the parts shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. l is a section on line 4 4 of Fig. 8; U Fig. 5 is a detail section showing the pinion;

Fig.v 6 is a side elevation of one of the rack and pinion devices, showing also the movable roller-bearing saddle for confining the rack to the pinion in different positions taken by the rack in operation;

Fig. 7 is a detail view of a locking latch employed in the mechanism;;and

Fig. 8 is a side elevation showinganother form of attachment whichmay be used in place of the rack and pinion connection to ythe Ventilating sashes.

Referring to the construction illustrated, C represents a portion of the roof of a green house or other building, and D, D, two of ya series of Ventilating sashes extending longitudinally of the' structure. Also extending longitudinally of the building and contiguous to the series of sashes is-an operatking shaft indicated at E, which shaft may tuated by, a series of racks F, pivotally connected to the sashes, and pinions G, it being understood that the number of such racks and pinions employed will depend upon the number of Ventilating sashes contained in the series to 'be operated.

Each of the pinions G is formed, at each side, with hub members comprised by the annular shoulders G2, G3, and is keyed to the shaft E, as at G4.

The racks F are so formed, in cross section, (as shown in Fig. 4l) as to provide, on the under side thereof, arc-shaped guides F (which ride upon the plane-surfaced shoulders G2 of the pinions G), and, on their upper sides, with arc-shaped guides 1F2, which contact with rollers to be hereinafter referred to.

For each of the rack and pinion devices, I providea rack-confining saddle, indicated in whole at I, comprising the side-plates I', which, at their lower ends, are provided with spacing-lugs I2, contacting with each other, the plates being secured inV position Vat this point by bolts or rivets I3.

rollers I3, whichare adapted to bear upon the arc-shaped guides F2 of the racks F.

Each of the side-plates I is formed with a circular orifice I7, through which the shoulders G3 of the pinion G are passed when the side plates I and other parts are" assembled, the walls of said orifices l2, in operation, bearing upon the shoulders G3 of the pinion G, and the inner surfaces of the side plates adjacent said orifices being adapted to loosely bear against the perpendicular portions of the shoulders G2 and hold the plates in position. Thus, the` rack-confining saddle I, whichis movablypmounted upon the shoulders G3 of the pinion G, and has limited rotary movement about the shaft E, as an aXis, always has a uniform bearing surface and adapts itself to'any tangential position assumed by the rack on its pinion, in the operation of opening or closing the sashes, and avoids all binding or straining of the parts due to such change of position.

It will be observed Ythat the guides F', F2

of the rack are so formed that they will ride easilyv upon the shoulders AG2 of the pinion land v'against the Yrollers I3 respectively, and 60 atthe same time insure sufficient clearance between the teeth ofthe rack and the teeth of the pinion.

It will also be 'noted that (as 'shown in Fig. 3), open spaces are provided between Athe teeth of the rack, so that when the racks are painted, no paint may collect between the teeth, it having been found, in practice, that where the racks were formed as ordinarily, without such openings, the paint so collecting would often so change the relative size of the parts as to cause breakage of same. Racks F are provided with stops F3 to limit their upward or outward travel and prevent them from riding off their respective pinions.

Also mounted upon, and adapted to rotate with, the shaft E is a gear J, meshing with which is a pinion K, which is suitably supported in bearings formed in a bracket l, the latter being anchored to the roof structure by the support K2. Carried by an axle extending from the pinion K is a sprocket wheel L, which is adapted to operate, or to be operated by, a chain L', Vwhich may be of any required length, dev pending upon the height of the building and the vertical distance to the power device by which the ventilating sashes are opened.

One of such power devices is indicated in whole at M, comprising a hollow standard M2, which will be embedded in the floor of the building, upon which standard is rigidly mounted an upright M3, in each side of which upright are formed bearings for the shaft M4 ofthe gear l 5. Mounted upon the shaft M2, at one end thereof, is a hand wheel indicated at N, having an operating knob N', and at the other end, is a sprocket wheel O, the teeth ofwhich are adapted to engage the chain L heretofore referred to. The 'upright M3 also contains Vbearings for a shaft P, upon which are mounted a gear Q, mesh- Ying with the gear lV 5, and a winding drum R. Suspended from the drum R, by means of the cord R', is a counter-weightS.

Also mounted upon the upright M3 is a locking mechanism for holding the gears M3, Q, immovable, said mechanism comprising a latch T, which is pivotally secured to the Vupright M3 by the pin'T, and having teeth T2, which normally engage the teeth of the gear Q, preventing movement of said gear except when said latch is disengaged.

lt will be apparent that when the hand wheel N is rotated in the ldirection of the arrow, motion will be imparted to the shaft MAr and sprocket wheel C, causing the chain Lvto travel in the direction indicated by the arrows, rotating the sprocket wheel L, pinion K, gear J, shaft E and pinions G, and causing upward travel of the racks F, and A' carrying therewith, and opening, the sashes Y D. Cn the opening movement of the mechaseries of Ventilating sashes and raise the counterweight, winding the cord R upon the drum. The manual operation of the hand wheel N, however, will not be necessary in order to safely close the sashes, the mechanism being so well balanced that it is only necessary for the operator to release the locking latch T, whereupon the sashes will close by gravity, and in closing, the motion of the sashes will impart motion, in a direction opposite to that shown by the arrows, to the racks F, rotating pinions G, shaft E and sprocket chain L', and, by the other connected mechanism, raising the counterweight and Winding its cord upon the drum In F ig. 8, I show a modified form of operating mechanism which may, in some cases, be substituted for the rack and pinion mechanism shown in the other gures, comprising simply an arm U, keyed to the shaft E, pivotally connected to the free end of which arm is a rod or link U, which is also pivotally connected to the sash D, the full lines indicating a midway position between closed and fully open. Approximately a half revolution of the shaft E will be required to move the sash to the fully open position. This construction may be successfully employed where the range of sashes is not over one hundred feet in length; but for a range of sashes approximating two hundred feet in length, the rack and pinion construction shown in the other figures will be found much more practical and advantageous.

I desire it to be understood that I do not wish to confine myself to the precise details of construction and arrangement of my invention herein set forth, as modification and Variation may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

IVhat I claim is:

l. In a sash operating mechanism, the con'ibination of a plurality of Ventilating sashes, an operating shaft common to the series of sashes, a power device, including a casing member adapted to be rigidly supported in upright position, winding means having operative connection therewith, a counter-weight within said casing flexibly connected to said winding means, power transmitting mechanism interposed between said power device and winding means and said shaft, and means interposed between said shaft and said sashes adapted to be actuated by said shaft to open said sashes and adapted to actuate said shaft, power transmitting mechanism and rwinding means through the closing of said sashes by gravity.

2. In sash operating mechanism, the combination with a series of Ventilating sashes, of a casing member adapted to be rigidly supported in upright position, a winding member mounted rotatably at one end of said casing, a counter-weight within said casing member, to act upon, and to be acted upon by', the series of sashes, means flexibly connecting said counter-weight to said winding member, and gearing operatively connecting said winding member with said series of sashes for operating, and to be operated by, the latter.

3. In sash operating mechanism, the combination with a series of Ventilating sashes, of a casing member adapted to be rigidly supported in upright position, a winding `member mounted rotatably at one end of said casing, a counter-weight within said casing member, to act upon, and to be acted upon by, the series of sashes, means flexibly connecting said counter weight to said winding member, and gearing operatively connecting said winding member with said series of sashes for operating, and to be operated by, the latter, including a hand wheel shaft and a pinion thereon in gear with said winding member.

4. In a sash operating mechanism, the combination of a plurality of ventilating sashes, `an operating shaft common to the series of sashes, a power device, including a casing member adapted to be rigidly supported in upright position, winding means having operative connection therewith, a counter-weight within said casing flexibly connected to said winding means, power transmitting mechanism interposed between said power device and winding means and said shaft, means interposed between said Y closing of said sashes by gravity, and means connected to said power device for holding the same immovable.

WILLIAM ADDISON BURNHAM.

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